MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $7.09 Million Stock Holdings in Citizens Financial Group, Inc. $CFG

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Citizens Financial Group by 48.2% in Q1, bringing its total holdings to $7.09 million after acquiring an additional 56,235 shares.
• Citizens Financial Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.42 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 51.06%.
• Analysts have given Citizens Financial Group an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $51.53, following positive performance in its recent earnings report.

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CFG - Free Report) by 48.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 172,984 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 56,235 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Citizens Financial Group were worth $7,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 678 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 673.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 889 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Citizens Financial Group by 143.4% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in shares of Citizens Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their target price on Citizens Financial Group from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Citizens Financial Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $57.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded Citizens Financial Group from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $57.00 price objective on Citizens Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.53.

Citizens Financial Group Price Performance

Citizens Financial Group stock opened at $51.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.88. Citizens Financial Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.60 and a 12 month high of $52.03. The company has a market capitalization of $22.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Citizens Financial Group (NYSE:CFG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The bank reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.01 billion. Citizens Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.94% and a net margin of 13.26%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Citizens Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.92 EPS for the current year.

Citizens Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Financial Group's payout ratio is 51.06%.

Citizens Financial Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, June 13th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 8.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Citizens Financial Group Profile

Citizens Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, corporations, and institutions in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Banking and Commercial Banking.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.